Record jacket



Ap 1958 I P. F. DURHAM 3,376,372

RECORD JACKET Filed May 20, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l V \Lf L I as l "3' PANEL I /ga I I 4:

INVENTOR."

.. PHILIP FDUHHAM,

.ATTYE.

P. F. DURHAM April 9, 1968 RECORD JACKET 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 20, 1966 R Q m U W F P a m 6 P m 7 JV .ATTYE.

United States Patent 3,376,872 RECORD JACKET Philip F. Durham, 108 E. Centennial, Muncie, Ind. 47303 Filed May 20, 1966, Ser. No. 551,697 Claims. (Cl. 129-16.7)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In the manufacture of products having a high market volume and relatively low markup, a continuing effort is made to reduce the fixed costs of the products, since, naturally, the lower the fixed costs the greater profit can be obtained. A major item of the cost of marketing a phonograph record album is the record jacket. The jacket serves to protect the record from dust and scratches in the hands of a consumer and also serves to protect it rorn theft and pilferage to a certain extent in the hands of the dealer. For complete protection of the record from theft, using present record jackets which have an open top, it is necessary to cover the jackets with a polyethylene or other plastic cover and seal the cover. This, of course, means additional expense for the manufacturer for material and for labor.

It is the present practice of most record dealers to place the albums in bins labeled with the name of the artist and with the type of music or other recorded matter. In making a selection the customer must examine the various albums in a bin and expose enough of each album to identify its contents. The present invention provides means to facilitate selection by the customer by improving the identification of each record or album.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide an improved tamper-proof record jacket comprising a front cover and a back cover of corresponding size, a plurality of tabs having an indicia surface on the exposed side and at least partially covered with adhesive on the other side, said tabs extending from the top edge of one of the covers of said jacket and a strip of protective coating situated on the exposed top leading edge of the opposite cover arranged so that said tabs can be folded over and adhesively affixed to the strip of protective coating on the opposite cover forming a substantially closed record jacket, which tabs must be disengaged before the record can be removed.

It is another object of this invention to provide an economical record jacket having improved structural strength along the spine of the jacket.

Further objects of this invention will become apparent from the following specification and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one side of a record jacket, according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the opposite side of a record jacket shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in elevation of the back cover prior to assembly, showing a strip of protective coating running along the top edge of the back cover;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the front cover prior to assembly;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the front cover in an intermediate stage of assembly;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view, with a part broken away, of the back cover adhesively fixed to the front cover prior to sealing a record between the covers;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. final position;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view indicating the position of the parts when a record is withdrawn from the jacket;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the record jacket taken on line 1010 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of a record jacket formed of one piece, shown only partially assembled; and

FIG. 12 is an elevational view of the upper portion of the backing cover similar to FIG. 3 showing a modification.

The record jacket comprises a front cover, designated Panel A, and a back cover, designated Panel B. When in final position the covers are of corresponding size and are joined along their marginal edges with one edge being 7 with the parts in open for access to the record enclosed therein. A coating of printers ink or varnish 12, forming a protective coating strip, is placed along the open edge of the top of the back cover B. Appearing through the strip is a series of circular, unvarnished or uninked areas 13 which are portions of the back cover. The upper edge of the top of the back cover B may have a plurality of raised or embosed areas 13a in lieu of the layer of ink or varnish. The back cover B can be of any desired dimension but preferably is of a size to receive a conventional 33 /3 r.p.m. long play record. Generally, this is about 12 /2 x 12 /2 inches. It will be apparent that the invention can be applied equally to jackets for conventional 7 inch, 10 inch or 16 inch records.

The body of the front cover A is of the same dimension as the back cover B and is provided with extensions therefrom in the form of connecting wings 14 on the three closed sides and with tabs 15 on the top side, the side through which a record is to be inserted or withdrawn. The wings 14 are co-extensive with the sides of the front cover A and are preferably about /2 inch in width. The width can be varied as described or the wings can be omitted altogether. To assemble the jacket, the wings 14 are inwardly folded, as shown in FIG. 5, and the back cover B is superimposed on the front cover A and adhesively affixed to the wings forming the closed jacket, as indicated in FIG. 6. The wings 14 are preferably beveled 45 at each end so that, when they are folded over in the manufacturing process, the beveled edges of the wings are brought into close approximation.

If the wings are omitted altogether, the back cover B is adhesively aflixed directly to the front cover A along the marginal edges thereof.

Extending from the top edge of the front cover A are a plurality of tamper-proof tabs 15. The tabs 15 can be of any number, and the group of tabs cooperates to form a substantially complete closure for the top or open side of the completed jacket.

The tabs 15 each contain an indicia bearing surface on the exposed side 16 on which can be imprinted data for record identification, such as the name of the artist and the type of music or other recorded material. The tabs 15 are coated with a conventional adhesive on a portion of the underside 17, that portion adjacent and contiguous with the body of the front cover A. Preferably the adhesive is pressure-sensitive. The outermost edges of the tabs 15 are not coated so that they will not adhere to the back cover B as explained below.

Once a record is placed in the jacket, the tamper-proof tabs 15 are folded down over the back cover B and the adhesive on a portion of the underside of the tabs engages the protective coating strip 12, thus forming a tamper-proof record jacket as shown in its complete form in FIG. 1. The portion of the tabs 15 not coated with adhesive are loose and can easily be gripped with the fingers and thereby furnishes a convenient means of raising the tabs in the record shop or whenever desired. When a tab is raised, the adhesive coated portion 17 carries along with it particles of varnish or printers ink. This saves the actual board composition of the back cover B from being defaced as it would be if the adhesive coated tabs were attached directly to the cover. When displayed in a conventional display bin, if desired, one or more of the tabs can be pulled up away from the protective coating strip and extended in an upright position, as indicated in phantom in FIG. 1, thus providing an easy means to identify the record when placed in a bin with other records or albums of the same general class. Even with one or two of the tabs pulled up the record cannot be removed since the remaining tabs are still adhered to the back cover B and effectively close the opening through which the record must be withdrawn.

In assembling the record jacket, as shown in FIG. 6,

the back cover B with the protective coating strip 12 is superimposed over the front cover A, the wings 14 of the front cover being already inwardly folded. Ordinarily, the wings 14 will hear an adhesive on the outer surface thereof and thus when they are folded in and the back cover B placed thereon, the wings serve to hold the front and back covers together. The record, indicated at R in the drawings, is then inserted and the tamper-proof tabs 15 are folded over the top edge of the back cover B and engage the protective coating strip 12.

The front cover contains a score line 18, which allows the edge of the front cover to be pulled open in order to facilitate easy insertion of a record, and easy inward folding of the tabs 15 when it is no longer desired to use them.

When the tamper-proof tabs 15 are folded over the top edge of the back cover B, a third layer of paper board in this area is added, as seen in FIG. 8, thus adding rigidity and strength to the spine of the record jacket. The tabs can be perforated along their base if desired so that they can be removed altogether once the consumer purchases the record.

While the record jacket of this invention has been described in terms of two separate pieces of board being joined together to make up the front and back cover, it can be made of one continuous piece, such as is shown in FIG. 11. In this embodiment, the back cover is formed by folding over the Panel B at the score line 19, and bringing Panel B into approximation with Panel A to form the record jacket. In other respects, the record jacket formed in this manner is as has been previously described herein.

Various modifications of the above described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A record jacket comprising in combination, a pair of parallel, generally planar panels, each of said panels having spaced apart, parallel sides and spaced apart, parallel sides and spaced apart, parallel top and bottom edges, the first of said panels having an outer marginal portion adjacent its top edge coated with a protective layer of printers ink to receive removably a pressure sensitive adhesive, the second of said panels having outwardly extending portions from the side and bottom edges thereof which are folded back along said sides and bottom edges, and have adhesive bearing faces which contact and secure the facing adjacent portions of said first panel thereby to space said panels apart, and said second panel having a plurality of contiguous projecting tabs extending beyond its top edge with each of said tabs having a pressure sensitive adhesive coating over a portion of one surface thereof with areas adjacent the free edge of the tabs free of adhesive; whereby when said panels are placed adjacent one another and secured together along their adjacent side and bottom edges, said tabs of said second panel may be folded over the top edge of said first panel and the adhesive coated surface of said tabs pressed against and removably secured to said protective layer of said outer marginal portion of said first panel to secure together the top edges of said panels, said tabs, when pressed upon said outer marginal portion of said first panel, have areas having no adhesive to facilitate gripping said tabs for removal from said first panel, at least some of said tabs having indicia thereon, all of said tabs initially being detacha bly secured to said protective layer, with an article inside the jacket related to the indicia on at least one of said tabs, and the tabs having the related indicia being adapted to be removed from said first panel and disposed in the plane of the second panel with the indicia thereon identifying the subject matter of the article in the jacket, while the tabs remaining secured effectively retain the article in the jacket and when all of said tabs are removed from said first panel the entire length of the top edges of said panels becomes unsecured so that the mouth of the jacket is completely open allowing removal of the article inside.

2. A record jacket comprising in combination, a pair of parallel, generally planar panels formed by folding over one continuous piece of board, the fold forming an edge of the record jacket, each of said panels having spaced apart, parallel sides and spaced apart, parallel top and bottom edges, the first of said panels having an outer marginal portion adjacent its top edge having a protective layer comprising a plurality of embossed portions to receive removably a pressure sensitive adhesive, the second of said panels having outwardly extending portions from certain edges thereof which are folded back along said edges, and have adhesive bearing faces which contact and secure the facing adjacent portions of said first panel thereby to space said panels apart, and said second panel having a plurality of contiguous projecting tabs extending beyond its top edge with each of said tabs having a pressure sensitive adhesive coating on a portion of one surface thereof with areas adjacent the free edge of the tabs free of adhesive; whereby when said panels are adjacent one another and secured together along their adjacent edges, said tabs of said second panel may be folded over the top edge of said first panel and the adhesive coated surface of said tabs pressed against and removably secured to said protective layer of said outer marginal portion of said first panel to secure together the top edges of said panels, said tabs, when pressed upon said outer marginal portion of said first panel, have areas having no adhesive to facilitate gripping said tabs for removal from said first panel, at least some of said tabs having indicia thereon, all of said tabs initially being detachably secured to said protective layer, with an article inside the jacket related to the indicia on at least one of said tabs, and the tabs having the related indicia being adapted to be removed from said first panel and disposed in the plane of the second panel with the indicia thereon identifying the subject matter of the article in the jacket, while the tabs remaining secured effectively retain the article in the jacket and when all of said tabs are removed from said first panel the entire length of the top edges of said panels become unsecured so that the mouth of the jacket is completely open allowing removal of the article inside.

3. A record jacket comprising in combination, a pair of parallel, generally planar panels, each of said panels having spaced apart, parallel sidesv and spaced apart, parallel top and bottom edges, the first of said panels having an outer marginal portion adjacent its top edge having a protective layer comprising a plurality of embossed portions to receive removably a pressure sensitive adhesive, the second of said panels having outwardly extending portions from certain edges thereof which are folded back along said edges, and have adhesive bearing faces which contact and secure the facing adjacent portions of said first panel thereby to space said panels apart, and said second panel having a plurality of contiguous projecting tabs extending beyond its top edge with each of said tabs having a pressure sensitive adhesive coating on a portion of one surface thereof with areas adjacent the free edges of the tabs free of adhesive, whereby when said panels are adjacent one another and secured together along their adjacent edges, said tabs of said second panel may be folded over the top edge of said first panel and the adhesive coated surface of said tabs pressed against and removably secured to said protective layer of said outer marginal portion of said first panel to secure together the top edges of said panels, whereby said tabs, when pressed upon said outer marginal portion of said first panel, have areas having no adhesive to facilitate gripping said tabs for removal from said first panel, at least some of said tabs having indicia thereon, all of said tabs initially being detachably secured to said protective layer, with an article inside the jacket related to the indicia on at least one of said tabs, and the tabs having the related indicia being adapted to be removed from said first panel and disposed in the plane of the second panel with the indicia thereon identifying the subject matter of the article in the jacket, while the tabs remaining secured effectively retain the article in the jacket and when all of said tabs are removed from said first panel the entire length of the top edges of said panels become unsecured so that the mouth of the jacket is completely open allowing removal of the article inside.

4. A record jacket comprising in combination, a pair of parallel, generally planar panels formed by folding over one continuous piece of board, the fold forming an edge of the record jacket, each of said panels having spaced apart, parallel sides and spaced apart, parallel top and bottom edges, the first of said panels having an outer marginal portion adjacent its top edge having a protective layer of printers ink to receive removably a pressure sensitive adhesive, the second of said panels having outwardly extending portions from certain edges thereof, which are folded back along said edges, and have adhesive bearing faces which contact and secure the facing adjacent portions of said first panel thereby to space said panels apart, and said second panel having a plurality of contiguous projecting tabs extending beyond its top edge with each of said tabs having a pressure sensitive adhesive coating on a portion of ,one surface thereof with areas adjacent the free edges of the tabs free 'of adhesive, whereby when said panels are adjacent one another and secured together along their adjacent edges, said tabs of said second panel may be folded over the top edge of said first panel and the adhesive coated surface of said tabs pressed against and removably secured to said protective layer of said outer marginal portion of said first panel to secure together the top edges of said panels, whereby said tabs, when pressed upon said outer marginal portion of said first panel, have areas having no adhesive to facilitate gripping said tabs for removal from said first panel, at least some of said tabs having indicia thereon, all of said tabs initially being de'tachably secured to said protective layer, with an article inside the jacket related to the indicia on at least one of said tabs, and the tabs having the related indicia being adapted to be removed from said first panel and disposed in the plane of the second panel with the indicia thereon identifying the subject matter of the article in the jacket, while the tabs remaining secured effectively retain the article in the jacket and when all of said tabs are removed from said first panel the entire length of the top edges of said panels become unsecured so that the mouth of the jacket is completely open allowing removal of the article inside.

5. A record jacket comprising in combination, a pair of parallel, generally planar panels, each of said panels having spaced apart, parallel sides and spaced apart, parallel top and bottom edges, the first of said panels having an outer marginal portion adjacent its top edge coated with a non-adhesive protective iayer to receive removably a pressure sensitive adhesive, the second of said panels having outwardly extending portions from the side and bottom edges thereof which are folded back along said sides and bottom edge, and have adhesive bean ing faces which contact and secure the facing adjacent portions of said first panel thereby to space said panels apart, and said second panel having a plurality of contiguous projecting tabs extending beyond its top edge with each of said tabs having a pressure sensitive adhesive coating over a portion of one surface thereof with areas adjacent the free edge of the tabs free of adhesive, Whereby when said panels are placed adjacent one another and secured together along their adjacent side and bottom edges, said tabs of said second panel may be folded over the top edge of said first panel and the adhesive coated surface of said tabs pressed against and removably secured to said protective layer of said outer marginal portion of said first panel to secure together the top edges of said panels, whereby said tabs, when pressed upon said outer marginal portion of said first panel, have areas having no adhesive to facilitate gripping said tabs for removal from said first panel, at least some of said tabs having indicia thereon, all of said tabs initially being detachably secured to said protective layer, with an article inside the jacket related to the indicia on at least one of said tabs, and the tabs having the related indicia being adapted to be removed from said first panel and disposed in the plane of the second panel with the indicia thereon identifying the subject matter of the article in the jacket, while the tabs remaining secured effectively retain the article in the jacket and when all of said tabs are removed from said first panel the entire length of the top edges of said panels become unsecured so that the mouth of the jacket is completely open allowing removal of the article inside.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,177,886 4/1916 Newcornb. 1,765,146 6/1930 Gonzalez 229- X 1,977,759 10/1934 Ford. 2,131,575 9/1938 Whipple 229-80 2,329,055 9/ 1943 Kegan 22980 2,330,666 9/ 1943 Berkowitz 22980 2,333,798 11/1943 Kner 12916.7 X 2,728,450 *12/ 1955 Haire 22982 X 2,954,119 9/1960 Goldsholl 20662 3,070,280 12/ 1962 Richmond 22980 3,162,355 12/1964 Boon.

FOREIGN PATENTS 654,515 6/1951 Great Britain.

1,020,859 2/1966 Great Britain.

JEROME SCHNALL, Primary Examiner. 

